Bills to raise minimum wage find few fans on House committee

Published 3:30 pm, Monday, March 20, 2017

Supporters of fast food workers in New York rallied in July in Albany. New York state is taking a regional approach to a minimum wage increase.

Supporters of fast food workers in New York rallied in July in Albany. New York state is taking a regional approach to a minimum wage increase.

Photo: Mike Groll, STF

Bills to raise minimum wage find few fans on House committee

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AUSTIN -- The House Committee on Business and Industry took up seven Democrat-authored bills to raise the state's minimum wage Monday, but left each pending without a vote.

Previous efforts to raise the state's minimum wage have foundered, and questioning of lawmakers and witnesses during the latest hearing did not indicate much support among the members of the committee.

Three of the house bills introduced in the current legislative session seek to more than double the $7.25 minimum hourly wage paid by most employers to $15.00, while two others proposed a more moderate increase of about 40 percent, to $10.10.

State Rep. Chris Turner, D-Arlington, whose House Bill 924 proposed a $10.10 wage, described that figure as "a first step" that would enable 2.4 million Texans to see a pay raise.

"If this legislature and this committee want to go to $15.00 an hour, I'll be the first to sign on to that," he said.

Two other bills would grant cities and counties the discretion to raise the minimum wage on all employers operating locally. Currently, local governments can only mandate higher minimum wages for public employees and workers at businesses contracted by the city or county.

Some of the state's larger cities and counties already have introduced higher minimum wages for their public workers or are considering doing so. In San Antonio, for example, that minimum is set to rise to $13.75 this year.

Supporters of the proposed legislation cited a February 2016 poll by the University of Texas/Texas Tribune finding that 62 percent of state residents support an increase in the federal minimum wage, and say that an increase would provide a living wage for more Texans while boosting the economy through increased consumer consumption.

Opponents of the bills cited the negative impact on the economy resulting from increased costs for businesses and potential job losses that could result as employers seek to replace workers with labor-saving technology.

The federal minimum wage last was raised in 2009. However, the majority of states have raised their minimum wages since then.